Wednesday 25 September 2019, 7.30pm
Very pleased to present a two-day residency with Lebanese musician, writer and illustrator, Mazen Kerbaj, who has helped break new ground in Beirut's free improvisation and experimental music scenes.
As a trumpet player, Kerbaj has collaborated and performed with a number of respected artists, among them French-Lebanese saxophonist Christine Sehnaoui, the Ariha Brass Quarter with Axel Dörner, percussionist Sven-Åke Johansson and Mats Gustafsson. His Al Maslakh label was established in 2005 as the first experimental outlet the country, and a second imprint, Johnny Kafta's Kid's Menu, was created in 2009 following a collaboration with Lebanese punk-rock outfit Scrambled Eggs.
In 2000, alongside Sharif Sehnaoui, Kerbaj founded the MILL association and associated Irtijal Festival, the longest-running festival for non-conformist contemporary music in Lebanon. Billing esteemed artists from throughout the region alongside contemporaries from the European circuit such as Gert-Jan Prins, Sam Shackleton, Miles Whittaker, and Rabih Beaini's Upperground Orchestra and Morphosis projects, Irtijal is widely regarded as the most prominent assembly for experimental music in the Arab world.
Kerbaj is the author of numerous books, and his comics and short stories have been published in anthologies, newspapers and magazines in Lebanon, Europe and the States. His visual works have been shown in both solo and group exhibitions in Lebanon, France, England, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Dubai, Malaysia and the US. He currently lives and works in Beirut.
“The series of preparations he put his trumpet through that evening was truly revelatory.” – Nate Wooley
Sholto Dobie was born in Edinburgh and lives in Vilnius. He is an artist and organizer working with sound in it's broadest sense. He regularly performs in events, using loose structures, site specific methodologies and an array of sound sources including home-made organs and bagpipes. Over the years, he has explored ideas related to folklore, environment a sonic phenomenon. He is based in Vilnius where he co-organises the artist run space Studium P and curates a regular event and radio series for local and international experimental music called Progine.
He has recorded and performed with artists and musicians including Rie Nakajima, Judith Hamann, Lia Mazzari, Shakeeb Abu Hamdan, Ahti & Ahti, Antonina Nowacka, Malvern Brume, Lucia Nimcova and in the group Lo Escucho Lo Pinto. He has released solo and collaborative music with labels such as Mappa, All Night Flight, Kashual Plastik, Infant Tree, Takuroku, Penultimate Press and Thanet Tape Centre. He has toured widely, presenting performances at Cafe Oto (London), Fylkingen (Stockholm), De Player (Rotterdam), KM28 (Berlin), Kraak Festival (Antwerp), Organ Sound Art Festival (Copenhagen), Jauna Muzika Festival (Vilnius), Counterflows Festival (Glasgow) and most recently in Vietnam as part of the Counterflows / Len Ngan project Thanh Canh.
Angharad Davies is a violin player who’s work exists between the thresholds of improvisation, composition and experimental music.
Her approach to sound involves attentive listening and exploring beyond the sonic confines of her instrument and performance expectation. Being an intrepid collaborator has seen her work with the likes of Tony Conrad, Elaine Radigue, Tarek Atoui, Gwenno, Lina Lapelyte, Richard Dawson, JG Thirlwell and Annea Lockwood.
As a composer she has been commissioned by Counterflows, LCMF, Tŷ Cerdd, Nawr, Explore Ensemble, GBSR duo, + AndPLAY and her music is often played on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show.
angharaddavies.com
Instagram : @angharaddavie
